Growing daffodil bulbs

If you simply can’t wait for spring or live in hardiness zone 8-10, daffodils & narcissus have a lovely variety called paperwhites that doesn’t need any cooling period at all, making it ideal for indoor blooming or warmer climates.

• For indoor growing:

Plant the paperwhite bulbs in a well-draining container, with 1” of the tip of the bulb sticking out of the soil. Place the bulbs very closely together so they won’t get floppy once they grow taller. After planting, place the pot in a brightly lit, warm spot. Make sure to turn the pot every day so that the plants will grow straight. After three to six weeks you’ll have a lovely pot of tender white flowers that smell divine. If you don’t like a strong fragrance indoors, paperwhite Inbal is just as beautiful but without the aroma.

Instead of in a pot with soil, you can also use a (glass) vase. Fill the bottom with pebbles or gravel and place the bulbs closely together on top of it, with their pointy ends up. Water until it just reaches the base of the bulbs, and place the vase in a brightly lit but not too warm spot. Make sure to keep topping up the water as it evaporates.

• For outdoor growing in zones 8-10:

Anytime in winter, find a sunny spot with well-draining soil and plant the paperwhite bulbs 3x deeper than they’re high, with their pointy ends up. For maximum impact it’s a good idea to plant them in clumps of 7-10. Water well after planting and wait for spring, when they’ll burst forth form the ground in tender, fragrant groups.

Tips for Planting Daffodil Bulbs

Learn all about the proper timing for buying and planting daffodils, how to plant them so you'll always see blooms, and a smart tip on harvesting.

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Brent Heath knows daffodils. As a third-generation bulb seller and daffodil hybridizer for his business, Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, he will happily regale you with fascinating stories about daffodils that have been passed down through the generations.

One of my favorites is the tale of how daffodils first came to the United States. Heath describes how our nation’s first imported daffodils came from women making the ocean voyage to the U.S. from Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.

“Daffodils, being dormant in the summertime, could ride on a ship for months without any harm,” says Heath. “The ladies were given limited space to bring things from home, so they sewed daffodil bulbs into the hems of their skirts. They served two purposes: bringing something dear to them from home and weighing their skirts down when the breezes blew on the deck of the ship.”

Today, there are about 28,000 registered varieties of daffodils in the U. S., 50 of which were hybridized by Heath. Although they all bloom in shades of yellow or white, their bloom times can range widely from late fall to early summer. Most tend to flower in early spring through late spring. Popular varieties include Dutch Master, Mount Hood, Tahiti, Jetfire, Thalia and Minnow.

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When To Purchase Daffodils

You’ll find mass-produced varieties of daffodils for sale at your local garden centers and home improvement stores beginning in early fall. But, for something more unique, try a mail order source, like Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, John Scheepers and Old House Gardens Heirloom Bulbs. The earlier you order, the better the selection.

Note: Be sure to check the USDA zone on the variety you buy, because it can vary greatly— from USDA zones 3 through 9.

When To Plant Daffodils

It’s usually a little too early to plant daffodils when they first start appearing in stores. Wait until the soil temperature ranges from 50 F to 60 F (usually around six weeks before the ground freezes) because that is when spring flowering bulbs make their roots. A thick layer of mulch will help keep the ground warmer for longer, so they have more time to get established.

It is vitally important that newly planted daffodil bulbs start to produce roots before the ground freezes. Once they do so, the cell walls of the bulbs become elastic. Heath describes it as if the bulbs become infused with “antifreeze.” Without it, they can freeze and then rot.

Where To Plant Daffodils

Choosing a suitable place to plant daffodils is one of the most important factors in their success. Look for a spot that receives sun for at least eight hours per day and is relatively dry with excellent soil drainage. If you plant them in shady, moist conditions, you’re not likely to see them bloom and the bulbs may succumb to a fungal disease called Fusarium oxysporum.

Don’t be fooled by how sunny your garden is in early spring before the trees leaf out. Daffodils need at least eight more weeks of sunshine after they finish blooming to soak up enough energy to be able to bloom again the following spring. Consequently, plant daffodil bulbs away from the shade cast by tall tree canopies. It’s alright if your hose can’t reach there.

“Like people, most bulbs prefer to sleep in a dry bed when they are dormant,” says Heath.

Because a daffodil’s leaves need to be exposed to the sun to make energy for the plant, they should never be bunched together or bundled after they are finished blooming. That practice not only prevents the plant from making energy, it can also trap water around the top of the bulb and promote disease.

Instead, disguise your daffodils’ foliage as it is going dormant by planting taller plants around the bulbs or redirecting the eye with brightly colored flowers blooming in the opposite corner of the garden. Once a daffodil’s leaves have turned yellow, you can safely remove them without harming the now-dormant bulbs.

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How To Plant Daffodils

If you have an auger handy, it is an excellent tool to use for planting daffodils because they like to be planted deep. Good quality daffodil bulbs are typically about two inches tall and weigh about as much as a golf ball. The planting hole should be three times the height of the bulb, so you’ll need to drill or dig about a six-inch-deep hole for each bulb. An auger makes quick work of it.

Be sure to set the bulb in the bottom of the hole with the pointy side facing up. The stem and leaves will emerge from the top and the roots will grow from the flattish bottom of the bulb.

Like most plants, daffodil bulbs thrive when essential nutrients are present. They respond with great vigor when fed with compost. Mix a bit of compost in with your native soil when you backfill the hole, then topdress the bulbs with another 1-inch deep layer of compost in spring.

Natural Repellent

One big reason people choose to grow daffodils instead of tulips is that they are virtually pest-proof. That’s because they are poisonous. The botanical name for daffodil is Narcissus, which is derived from the root word narcos which means “narcotic. ” The alkaloid in a daffodil (which is what makes it poisonous) is a deadly narcotic.

The good news, as Heath explains, is that “They taste so bad that you really don’t have to worry about pets or children eating them.” Even insects find daffodil pollen to be distasteful. The plants rarely set seeds because their flowers are not pollinated.

Enjoy Your Daffodils Every Spring

Once you’ve planted your daffodil bulbs in the fall, there is little left to do but wait to enjoy the flowers that will sprout the following spring. All the energy they need to bloom is already contained within the bulb, so no chemical fertilizers are needed to make them produce flowers. The compost you added in the fall will be sufficient.

Daffodils are perennial bulbs that return and bloom year after year without needing to be replanted. If grown in the proper environment, a single clump of daffodils can live 100 years or more. Each bulb will multiply, and the clump will expand each season.

If you’d like to divide your daffodil bulbs to spread around to other places in your garden, do so just as the leaves are beginning to turn yellow in summer. Lift the whole clump, pull apart the bulbs, and replant them in their new home using the method described above.

“To pick a daffodil, run your finger down the stem, put your thumb on the opposite side, and pull up to snap the stem,” says Heath. “Don’t cut the stem to pick it. Pulling the stem off the bulb will result in a stem that holds water better and flowers that last longer in a vase.”

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when to buy and how to store, propagation and treatment for diseases

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/en/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden Plants Retrained: January 31 2023 Last amendments: 09 February 2023

Content

• Listen to article
• when it is better to buy bulbs
• on bulbs
• Mipping of bulbs against diseases
• Overwintering of narcissus bulbs
• Literature
• Comments

Narcissus (Narcissus) is a plant that is propagated and grown from bulbs, therefore, to obtain beautiful flowers of daffodils, it is important to choose high-quality planting material. The main thing is that the bulbs are not affected by the narcissus fly or, as it is also called, the bulbous hoverfly. Dangerous for daffodils and various kinds of rot.

Based on these warnings, you need to buy daffodil bulbs at specialized points of sale or online stores that have been selling planting material for a long time and have a decent reputation.

Narcissus bulbs are pear-shaped. They are one-, two- or multi-vertex.

Listen to article

When is the best time to buy bulbs

If you are planting daffodils for the first time, buy bulbs in the summer and plant them in late August or early September. In some warm regions, planting daffodils is allowed in early October. The main thing in this process is that the bulb has time to take root before frost.

After purchase, the bulbs should be stored in a dark, cool place until planting.

If you are already growing daffodils and intend to use your own planting material, the transplant bulbs should be dug up in June. Two months before autumn, they should lie down in a dark, dry place, for example, in a basement.

Propagation of daffodils with bulbs

Propagation of daffodils occurs by dividing and planting a bulbous nest. Young daffodil bulbs reach optimal size by 3-4 years of growth, so do not disturb them ahead of time. Children are separated from the ripened mother bulb - new bulbs that can be planted as independent plants. Daughter bulbs bloom, as a rule, already in the 1st year.

Sometimes a more complex method of propagation is used - by parts of the bulbs. To do this, the bulbs are divided (cut) into several (for example, 4-6) parts. Each part of the bulb must be treated with a stimulant drug. After that, the parts are dried and planted in boxes with a sterile substrate, since the cut bulbs are very susceptible to disease.

Some flower growers also practice seed propagation of daffodils. But this is a long, painstaking, not very reliable way, and flowers grown in this way bloom only after a few years.

• Daffodils: planting in autumn in open ground

Treatment of bulbs against diseases

Narcissus bulbs sometimes suffer from various diseases , most often from bacterial and penicillary rot, fusarium, sclerotinia, mosaic disease. How to care for daffodils?

So that the plant does not die and does not get sick after flowering, it is sprayed with a solution of copper sulphate at the rate of 100 g of sulphate per 10 liters of water.

Narcissus bulbs are also affected by pests, of which the most dangerous is the onion hoverfly. It starts in the bulbs of the nematode and the root onion mite, so the plants need to be treated with an insecticide in the spring. You can use Fitoverm, which is diluted in a proportion of 2 ml per 1 liter of water.

Overwintering of daffodil bulbs

Most daffodils are hardy, so their bulbs overwinter well without shelter. But there are varieties that are more demanding on temperatures, so the area where such daffodils are planted should be covered with dry leaves or peat.

After the snow has melted, the temperature has risen above zero and the threat of severe night frosts has passed, the mulch can be removed.

When the air temperature reaches 15°C and the soil between 10°C and 12°C, daffodils begin to actively grow and set buds. If it gets hot in April - early May, young plants need to be watered abundantly, and very soon you will be able to admire their beautiful flowering.

Literature

1. Read related topics on Wikipedia
2. Peculiarities and other plants of the Amaryllidaceae family
3. List of all species on The Plant List
4. More information on World Flora Online

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planting and care in the open field

Rules for planting daffodils

In order for daffodils to please with abundant flowering, it is important to choose a good place for them and plant them at the optimum time.

Place for planting

The site for planting daffodils should be flat, preferably on a small hill, where spring melt water will not accumulate - the bulbs rot from excess moisture. The ideal option is a slope to the south side.

These plants do not like bright sun, especially varieties with pink and orange crowns: they burn out under direct rays. Therefore, it is best to plant them between deciduous trees or along the edge of tree trunks. Daffodils begin to bloom before the leaves bloom, so the sun is enough for them. But you should not plant them under coniferous trees - there is too dense a shadow.

And one more thing: the place where daffodils grow should be protected from strong winds - in a quiet place they bloom longer.

Narcissus bulbs are not eaten by mice - the scales contain poisonous substances. Therefore, daffodils are often planted around other bulbous plants: hazel grouse, lilies, small bulbous species. It turns out a kind of natural protection.

Soil

Narcissists are suitable for any type of soil, but they prefer loam (1), preferably rich in nutrients (2). The only option that these flowers do not favor is poor sandy areas. Under such conditions, daffodils usually bloom for the first year - due to previously accumulated nutrients. Then the bulbs shrink and flowering stops. In addition, sandy soils cool more strongly - there is a risk that the bulbs will freeze in winter.

You can solve the problem if you add humus to such soil - 2 buckets per 1 sq. m, and then dig the site. But this should be done at the beginning of summer, 3 months before planting the bulbs. Instead of humus, you can use fresh manure - 2 buckets per 1 sq. m, but it must be paid in a year. It is absolutely impossible to add organic matter to the soil before planting daffodils!

Before planting, regardless of the type of soil, fertilizer must be applied: 2 tbsp. spoons of double superphosphate, 1.5 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of ammonium nitrate per 1 sq. m.

Planting time

Daffodil bulbs are planted in a permanent place at the end of August (3) or the first half of September. It is not worth planting later, otherwise in the spring the plants may not bloom, or even die altogether - they simply do not have time to develop the root system. And if planted earlier, they will germinate and young shoots will be killed by frost.

Planting depth

Daffodil flowers are planted to a depth equal to three bulb heights (by the way, this rule applies to all bulbous plants). That is, if the bulb is 5 cm high, then it must be planted to a depth of 15 cm. Please note: the planting depth of daffodils is considered from the bottom, and not from the top! The distance between the bulbs should be 15 - 20 cm.

And a couple more tricks. If you want your daffodils to bloom early, plant them a little smaller than normal. In this case, by the way, they form more child bulbs. And if you need to push flowering to a later date - a little deeper (about 3 cm), but then there will be fewer children in the nest.

Outdoor care for daffodils

Some varieties of daffodils cannot winter without cover. More persistent ones tolerate our harsh winters well. But if possible, it is better to protect all plantings from frost.

Cover daffodils when persistent frosts occur. Dry leaves, spruce branches, peat, compost, chopped straw, sawdust of hardwood are best suited for these purposes - they are poured in a layer of 15 - 20 cm. . The fact is that until the bulbs grow roots, they can easily rot. Therefore, after planting, it is better to cover the site - with a sheet of plywood, slate or something else that does not let water through.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about growing daffodils with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

What colors go with daffodils in the garden?

Daffodils go well with other spring bulb flowers - tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, chionodoxes, blueberries, pushkinias, snowdrops and muscari. Late varieties can be planted in the company of brunner, bergenia, primroses and survivors.

Is it possible to grow daffodils in a pot?

It is possible, but in order for them to bloom, it is important to observe the temperature conditions.

The dormant period of daffodils is about 4 months. At this time, pots with planted bulbs need to be provided with cold conditions - 3 - 9 ° C. As soon as sprouts appear, the temperature is increased to 10 ° C. After about a week, they need to be moved to a warmer place, where it will be 15 - 18 ° C. At higher temperatures, leaves and buds may wilt.

How to store daffodil bulbs before planting?

The easiest and safest option is to put them in the refrigerator door. There they will remain without problems until landing.

Sources

1. Kudryavets D.B., Petrenko N.A. How to grow flowers. A book for students // M .: Education, 1993 - 176 p.
2. Aleksandrova M.S., Krestnikova A.

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